Ben Nevis via the CMD Arête

A more challenging route up the highest mountain in the UK, while taking in a second munro, Carn Mor Dearg and the famous CMD Arête. This is a classic ridge walk with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

If the pony track up Ben Nevis isn’t challenging enough for you, then this is a classic alternative. It takes in another Munro (a Scottish mountain above 914 metres), Carn Mor Dearg and is another long but rewarding day. The scramble along the CMD Arête is a real classic Scottish ridge walk, and the views of Ben Nevis’s north face are incredible. This walk is a bit more challenging than the pony track, and some previous hillwalking experience is required to complete this route.

We start at the north face car park, and begin the walk through the dense forest plantation, but very soon we’re offered the first view of Nevis, the ridge and Carn Mor Dearg. We’ll break away from the banks of the Allt a’Mhuilinn, a small burn (stream) that is perfect for a quick dip on a hot day, and start up the north-easterly slope of CMD. After reaching the first summit of the day, we start our traverse of the arête. It is a fairly long scramble, with a few larger boulders to traverse over/around. There is bypass paths at various points but there is not one continuous bypass path, so you must be confident in completing the route before booking your place. After the traverse, we have a final pull up to the summit of Ben Nevis over some rough boulders, and a final straightforward descent back to the car park - first down the pony track and then through a kilometre of boggy ground before rejoining the path by the burn.

Browse the dates we have available and book your place below. Upon booking the trip, you’ll be sent a kit list and more information about what to wear, how to pack your bag and the route itself.

£65 per person. Max group size of 4.

Please contact me if you wish to book a private guiding day.